Thrust bearing



y 1950 A. B. LAKEY I 2,507,021

THRUST BEARING Filed Aug. 20, 1945 L1: L 1. -'L...|

Patented May 9 195 TAT E THBIUST BEARING Application August 20, 19415,Serial-Ncu6I1795 'lClaims. 1

I-hisinventionrelates to thrust bearings, and more particularly to thrust bearings .for shafts rotating-at a relatively high speed.

As-the-R. l5. M. of a shaftare increased, increasing difiiculties are encountered in securing adequate lubrication of the relatively rotatable bearing-surfaces"because centrifugal force, which increases-with the square of the speed, urges the lubricating oil toward the radially outer periphery of the rotating bearing member. Hence although the lubricating oil-may be copiously supplied to the leading edge-cfcach of the stationary thrust shoes, the-lubricanttends to flow under the action ef-centrifugalforce diagonally with respect tocircumferentiallines with the result that the oil iilins established between the relatively rotatable bearingsurfaces become impoverished at the radiallyinner trailing corncrportion of the shoe, with consequent increase in friction and power losses.

'Itis an-object of this invention to provide a thrust bearing for shafts rotating at relatively high speed which largely if not entirely overcomesthe foregoing difficulty by assuring adequate lubrication throughout the bearing surfaoe'oteach shoe.

Another object of this invention is to provide a. thrust bearing for-shafts rotating at relatively highspeedin which'the shoe is so constructed that -not-0nly is=there a copious supply of lubricant provided throughout the width of the shoe at theleading edge of its bearing surface but-additional quantities of lubricant are supplied throughout the length of the inner periphery of the shoe-so .asto replenish suchlubricant as is moved diagonally outwardly by the action of centrifugal force.

.Another object of this invention is to provide a thrust bearing for shafts rotating at relatively high speed in which each shoe issupplied with lubricating oil under pressure throughout the radial-width of its 'bearingsurface at'the leading edge and additional quantities of oil under pressure are supplied to the bearing surface throughout the length of its inner periphery so that even the inner trailing corner portion of the bearing surface is adequately flooded with oil at all times.

--Another object of this invention is to-provide a thrustbearing of the type referred to which providesfor the aforesaid improved lubrication ofthe bearing surfaces without introducing undue complexity of construction and-without'interfering with the desired flexibility ofmovement of the'bearing shoes.

Other objects will appear as the description of the invention proceeds.

"The invention is capable of receiving avariety of mechanicalexpressions one of which is shown on the-accompanying drawings, but-it is---to---bc (Cl. glide-11$!) v 2 expressly understood thatstheadrawings areifor' purposes of illustration-10111.3 and are .not .to .be construed as adefinition. of the .limits of thermvolition, reference .being .had to .the appended claimsfor that purpose.

:In the accompanying .drawings the invention is -illustrated eas embodied .in a double acting thrust hearing .=.f.or=.a .horizontal shaft, but it. is to-be expressly .understood that the "invention is-egnallyapplicableto single -.acting.-as well as double acting. thrust. bearings and. to. thrust bear.- iiigS fOl'- Vei3tlCa1 or inclined, shafts-as wellasfor horizontal shafts. :In .said drawings, .,wherein the -sa-me reference .characters are. employed etc designate .corresponding .parts in [the several figures,

hi 1 .is ca somewhat .schematic ,.e1evatien .,of a thrust bearing embodying the present .inven tion;

Fig. 2 is a plansviewslof arbase ring-Withth shoes and pressuresequal-izing. members. removed;

iFig. .eS-his :a section.- oftha .basering. .cnjhe. line sees of Fig. 2.. with c the shoet shown as in section on the unecfis .of Figsl 1's.:a. plan view of;=the -.shoe.-.to an enlarged scale ;..and

-.5;is a section of; theshoe. .on the line 5;. -5 ofiFig. 4.

Referring inadetaiLto the .drawinga l igpl i1- lustrates. schematically. a .:double acting thrust bearing for a horizontal shaft .Lil. provided;-witlna thrust collar ltof-anysuitableconstruction. :Gooperating with-.-.the opposed faces of said. collar areanyTsuitable mumberof; thrust-shoes 1 2;;WhjQh may beof any suitable; construction butare; rillustratedeas f a-.well. known. type of Kingsbury thrustibearing shoes providedwith spherically faced inserts: island-mounted on. an overlapping series of. equalizing blocks,..or.- plates. it. retained, as by set. screws i i5, in; the channels of channelshaped base rings :16, :asshown. foriexample. in Kingsbury Patent N os1,4=28,643,.granted Septem-- ber 12, 1922. all; .-is.to-. .becexpresslycunderstood, however, thatany other, suitable form of bearing shoe -and.-.mounting--.means; therefor may. be: employed embodyingv the present invention.

order to provide copious quantities of lubrioil throughoutthe-radialwidth of the surface oi.-. each. shoe-atthe leading edge the bearing face of. theshoe. at itslcadis provided. with .aigroove or channel I] extondssubstantiallythroughout the radial muttcf the shoe as shown in. section .in::Eig.- ;3 and in plan in Fig. A wherein the collar is .-.assamed to be rotating .in the .directionof the-arrow it thereon. :Oil issupplied tolgroove 'l'l through passage: extendingaxially through the-shoe the rear-face thereof. 1 Thebearing surface of theshoawhich maybeof any suitable beargmetal, is steppeddownor terr'ninatedshortof the peripherally inner edge of the shoe as shown at if in Figs. 3 and 5, so as to provide a channel 22 which, as shown in Fig. 4, extends throughout the circumferential length at the inner periphery of the bearing surface. The passage H), as also shown in Fig. l, not only communicates with the groove I"! but it is of such size and so located that it overlaps the channel 22 so that some of the oil passing axially through the passage 19 flows along the channel 22 from which it can pass to the inner peripheral edge of the bearing surface 20 throughout the length of its inner periphery so that even the inner trailing corner portion of said bearing surface is copiously supplied with lubricating oil from the channel 22 as indicated by the arrows 23 in Fig. l.v

Lubricating oil under pressure may be supplied to the axially extending passage 19 in any suitable way. As shown, the inner axially extending wall of the channel-shaped base ring I6 is provided with an axially extending passage 24 at such a position that it will be aligned with the passage it of each shoe. In order to connect the passage 24 with the passage 19 without interfering with the capacity of the shoe to tilt freely in all directions in conformity with the principles of Kingsbury bearings, passages I9 and 24 are connected by a connector 25 having spherical end portions 26 and 2'! where they are received in said passages so that a relatively oil-tight connection is maintained but the connector may move universally in all directions with respect to the base ring and the shoe. Thereby the shoe has full freedom to tilt in all directions on its spherically faced supporting surface.

'- Each passage 24 has communicating therewith a passage 28 extending through the bottom wall of the channel-shaped base ring to an annular chaimel 29 (see Fig. 1) formed between the outer periphery of the base ring and the inner wall of its confining housing. Oil under pressure is supplied to the channel 29 from any suitable source, as by a separate oil pump or a viscosity oil pump of any suitable construction associated with the thrust collar II, or any other suitable source of oil under pressure.

operation, the lubricating oil flows under pressure from the channel 29 through each set of passages 28 and 24 and the connector 25 associated with each shoe into the axially extending passage l9 therein. From each passage IS the oil fills the channel or groove I! and also flows along the channel 22, both of which are in communication with the passage l9. Thus the bearing surface 26 is provided throughout its radial extent at its leading edge and also throughout its circumferential extent at its inner edge with a copious supply of lubricating oil, whereby the wedge-shaped lubricating film is established at the bearing face of the shoe and such film is maintained without impoverishment by the action of centrifugal force throughout the bearing surface of the shoe by oil entering the bearing film as needed from said channel 22.

It is customary to operate ordinary Kingsbury thrust shoes so that they are completely immersed in an oil bath whereby there is no substantial excess of the oil supply pressure at the entrance of the film as compared with the pressure at the exit therefrom. By virtue of the basic action of the Kingsbury tilting shoe, however, the tapered films do not need any such excess of pressure to enable them to get their full supply of oil. Hence by reason of the mechanism of these films it will be seen that it is not essential to maintain positive pressure in the oil groove H, but merely necessary to avoid a negative pressure therein. However, it is sometimes desirable to supply not only the quantity of oil required by the film, but a certain excess flow which, while not traversing the film, will yet be applied to the shoes and collar so as to be effective for the purpose of cooling them. This extra cooling is especially desirable when the collar is heated not only by the bearing friction, but also by conduction of heat along the shaft from other parts of the installation of which the bearing is a part. The general lowering of the bearing temperature thus effected will act to lower the temperature of the oil in the films and thereby result in greater film thickness and. improved load capacity. The desired total oil how and its apportionment between groove ['1 and the channel 22 is readily controllable, preferably both by adjusting the oil pressure as supplied to the supply channel 29 and by suitable choice of the parallel depth of the channel 22 as well as of the cross sectional area and form of the opening whereby channel 22 receives oil from passage (9 or groove 11 although either could be used by itself.

It will therefore be perceived that by the present invention the impoverishment of the oil film that has heretofore occurred with increase in the speed of rotation of shafts has been overcome by channeling oil under pressure along the entire inner periphery of the bearing surface of each shoe as well as radially across its leading edge, and consequently power losses due to inadequate lubrication at relatively high speed have been overcome. At the same time the improved lubrication of the thrust shoes is effected without interfering with the desired freedom of operation of the bearing shoes themselves and without introducing undue complexity into the bearing structure.

While the embodiment of the invention illustrated on the drawings has been described with considerable particularity, it is to be expressly understood that the invention is not restricted thereto as the invention is capable of receiving a variety of expressions, some of which will now be apparent to those skilled in the art, and changes may be made in the details of construction, arrangement, proportion and location of parts without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a thrust bearing for a shaft rotating at a relatively high speed, relatively rotatable thrust lbearing members including a bearing shoe having a thrust bearing surface which is defined by edges that are leading and trailing with regard to the direction of relative rotation of the bearing members and by inner and outer edges that are spaced radially with respect to the axis of rotation where there are different speeds of relative rotation between said bearing members, means for supplying oil under pressure substantially throughout the peripheral extent of the inner edge of said bearing surface including means at the bearing face of said shoe providing a channel in said shoe for lubricating oil extending along said edge, and means in said shoe providing a passage in communication with said channel for supplying said channel with oil under pressure.

2. In a thrust bearing for a shaft rotating at a relatively high speed, relatively rotatable thrust bearing members including a bearing shoe having a thrust bearing surface which is defined by edges that are leading and trailing with regard to the direction of relative rotation of the bearing members and by inner and outer edges that are spaced radially with respect to the axis of rotation where there are different speeds of relative rotation between said bearing members, means for supply ing oil under pressure substantially throughout the peripheral extent of the inner edge of said bearing surface including means at the bearing face of said shoe providing a channel in said shoe for lubricating oil extending along said edge and a passage extending through said shoe and communicating with said channel for supplying said channel with oil under pressure.

3. In a thrust bearing for a shaft rotating at a relatively high speed, relatively rotatable thrust bearing members including a bearing shoe having a thrust bearing surface which is defined by edges that are leading and trailing with regard to the direction of relative rotation of the bearing members and by inner and outer edges that are spaced radially with respect to the axis of rotation where there are different speeds of relative rotation between said bearing members, means for supplying oil under pressure substantially throughout the peripheral extent of the inner edge of said bearing surface including means at the bearing face of said shoe providing a channel in said shoe for lubricating oil extending along said edge and the leading edge of said bearing surface having a channel for lubrieating oil extending along said edge, and means in said shoe in communication with said channels for supplying said channels with oil under pressure.

4. In a thrust bearing for a shaft rotating at a relatively high speed, relatively rotatable thrust bearing members including a bearing shoe having a thrust bearing surface which is defined by edges that are leading and trailing with regard to the direction of relative rotation of the bearing members and by inner and outer edges that are spaced radially with respect to the axis of rotation where there are different speeds of relative rotation between said bearing members, means for supplying oil under pressure substantially throughout the peripheral extent of the inner edge of said bearing surface including means at the bearing face of said shoe providing a channel in said shoe for lubricating oil substantially coextensive with said edge and the leading edge of said bearing surface having a groove for distributing oil to said bearing surface substantially coextensive with said edge, and means in said shoe providing a passage in communication with said channel and groove for supplying said channel and groove with oil under pressure.

5. In a thrust bearing for a shaft rotating at a relatively high speed. relatively rotatable thrust bearing members including a bearing shoe having a thrust bearing surface which is defined by edges that are leading and trailing with regard to the direction of relative rotation of the bearing members and by inner and outer edges that are spaced radially with respect to the axis of rotation where there are different speeds of relative rotation between said bearing members, means for supplying oil under pressure substantially throughout the peripheral extent of the inner edge of said bearing surface including means at the bearing face of said shoe providing a channel in said shoe for lubricating oil extending along substantially the entire length of said edge, said shoe also having a passage therein in communication with said channel, and supporting means for said shoe provided therein with a passage in communication with the said first named passage for supplying oil under pressure to said channel.

6. In a thrust bearing for a shaft rotating at a relatively high speed, relatively rotatable thrust bearing members including a bearing shoe having a thrust bearing surface which is defined by edges that are leading and trailing with regard to the direction of relative rotation of the bearing members and by inner and outer edges that are spaced radially with respect to the axis of rotation where there are different speeds of relative rotation between said bearing members, means for supplying oil under pressure substantially throughout the peripheral extent of the inner edge of said bearing surface including means at the bearing face of said shoe providing a channel in said shoe extending along said edge and the leading edge of said bearing surface having means extending along said edge for supplying lubricating oil to said surface, a passage in said shoe in communication with said last named means and said channel, and a support for said shoe having a passage therein in communication with said first named passage for supplying oil under pressure to said channel and means.

7. In a thrust bearing for a shaft rotating at a. relatively high speed, relatively rotatable thrust bearing members including a bearing shoe having a thrust bearing surface which is defined by edges that are leading and trailing with regard to the direction of relative rotation of the bear ing members and by inner and outer edges that are spaced radially with respect to the axis of rotation where there are dififerent speeds of relative rotation between said bearing members, the inner edge of said bearing surface at which exists the lower speed of relative rotation having a channel substantially coextensive with said edge, said shoe also having a passage in communication with said channel, supporting means for said shoe on which said shoe is tiltably mounted and having a passage in communication with the passage in said shoe for supplying oil under pressure thereto, and a connector having a passage connecting the passages in said support and shoe and flexibly connecting said shoe and said support.

ARTHUR B. LAKEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,117,504 Kingsbury Nov. 17, 1914 1,293,471 Kingsbury Feb. 4, 1919 1,900,924 Firth Mar. 14, 1933 2,168,345 Kingsbury Aug. 8, 1939 2,363,260 Peskin NOV. 21, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 263,378 Great Britain Dec. 30, 1926 

